The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
Recent statistics, published by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety clearly show that distracted driving is a problem that needs to be solved and fast.
Distraction.gov site points out that 20 percent of injury crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving. According to the 2010 Traffic Safety Culture Index, 52% of drivers say driving feels less safe today than it did 5 years ago. Nearly half cite some form of driver distraction as the main reason or as a reason for their feeling less safe.
From 2001 to 2007, more than 16,000 deaths in traffic crashes can be attributed to texting. Annual cell phone-related crash fatalities rose by 28% between 2005 and 2008. Researchers are pointed out that this dramatic increase corresponds to the time when texting gained massive popularity. So while cell phone use in general remained relatively consistent, people were increasingly taking their eyes off the wheel to look down and type.
While state sponsored legislations have been instituted against use of cell-phones while driving, studies show that these are not driving any significant reduction in distracted driving. Besides laws against texting while driving have proven difficult to enforce. Legislation may create penalties, but drivers create change.
With the rise of smart cell phones, several applications geared towards distraction-free driving are available in the market today; all take the approach of blocking the use of features of the smart phone as cellular phone, texting or emailing while driving. The more sophisticated applications are also proactively taking actions on behalf of the driver by handling incoming calls or SMS messages. Typically a message is sent to the caller informing them about the user as driving currently.
What is needed is a system and method for automatically evaluating difficulty/distraction of a machine operation during operation of that machine by the operator.